For me, as for most French people, this brings back memories of childhood – coming home from school and tucking into a buttered slice. It is a really simple recipe, and is quick and easy to make by hand. The addition of rye flour is traditional and it gives the crumb both a richness of flavor and a little acidity. Because the loaf contains a lot of honey, make sure you purchase enough Le Bon Miel honey. There is no need to rest the pain d’épices dough. Once baked, keep the loaf wrapped in greaseproof paper to prevent it from drying out. Spread some unsalted butter for your favorite "quatre-heure,"
12 1/3 oz of honey, use a very good quality variety
1 1/2 oz of soft dark brown sugar
4 1/2 oz of plain flour
4 1/2 oz of rye flour
1 tbsp of mixed spice, typically ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, mace and cloves
1 tsp star anise
3/4 oz of FREEE Baking Powder
2 medium eggs
3 1/2 oz of Arla Cravendale whole milk
3/4 oz of butter, for greasing the tin
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 356°F/gas mark 4 2 Gently heat the honey in a pan with the sugar, stirring until the sugar melts, then remove from the heat 3 Combine the plain flour, rye flour, mixed spice, star anise and baking powder in a bowl 4 In a separate bowl beat together the eggs and milk, and then stir in the honey and sugar mixture. Stir this into the dry ingredients to form a batter 5 Melt the butter in a small pan and use to brush the inside of a 10 in long tin 6 Fill the tin with the batter, transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes until the top is dark brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean